FAQ

You can, but you also must include the simple written form directly in the DeviantArt image description. It can't be just the links. 

You can see some examples of how it was done under the "Written Applications" in Creating the Character.

Yes! Plenty of our members like to include extra visuals, such as additional headshots, notes, or close ups of accessories on the visual application. This is completely okay and encouraged for asymmetrical characters.

However, please remember that adding too many of those could make the reference less readable.

• Here is an example.

• Another example.

You are free to add your character to any faction you please, provided their backstory and their role suit the faction that you have chosen. It is best to consider what their purpose is; are they a companion dog? Do they live free of humans, or rely on multiple humans, or do they serve a single human with a set purpose? 

Please be mindful of the available slots for factions, which is displayed on the Canidale DeviantArt Homepage. If a faction is full, no further applications will be accepted into this faction.

Yes! You are allowed to name your characters whatever you feel suits them the best, including names after popular characters such as Bluey or Naruto. Just ensure they aren’t a copy of the media character, for instance, giving them the same personality and backstory.

Only strays can officially have two jobs, as they are loners. Your dog can have a hobby or a "secondary" job, something it does once in a while—it's not their main job, but they can do it sometimes. (E.g A Farmstead dog who primarily hunts but might guard the land on occasion) 

However, please only list ONE job for their biography unless they are a Stray, which can have up to two. 

Medallions are character images (typically headshots) used to decorate a roleplay, literature submission, or a character's profile. They are optional, and you do not need to create one. Examples here! 

Here you will find the template for them! Hit the download button to get the PSD file. You can also use a different medallion template if preferred.

You are allowed to start with as many accessories as you like! If you add more in the future, you would have to submit a canon work of them obtaining a new accessory. (E.g their owner buys them a new collar or a stray finds scrap cloth to use as a bandanna)

Yes, that is fine. We have plenty of characters who moved in from different parts of the world. They do not have to be born in Canidale or the United States. 

You can! However, please keep in mind that puppies will require a guardian or caretaker.

Stray and Junkyard puppies require another adult dog to take care of them, whereas Farmstead and Pet puppies will require their human owner to take care of them. 

Yes, that’s fine. As long as one of the guardians is in the same faction as the puppy, they can have more than one.

It highly depends on the job, but most likely, they would be considered in training! Puppies start training for most jobs as early as three months old. If you wish, you can indicate in parentheses that they’re still in training (e.g., “Hunter (in training)”).

As for when they complete their training, it could happen in their early adulthood! So around one and a half to two years. Keep in mind, jobs such as police dogs require a little more time before they're considered fully-fledged.

Absolutely! You can put them in the "cani-connections" channel or the MISC folder on DeviantArt and host the auditions however you see fit, whether through Google Forms or simpler methods. Please keep in mind that the tryout character must have some connection to Canidale and its characters.

Yes! Characters can have dyed fur/hair.  However, it must make sense. 

Strays and Junkyard dogs will not have any access to human-made pet dye, so they will likely resort to natural pigments, such as crushed berries, plants, and clay. Pets and Farmstead dogs are the only factions that can be dyed much more vibrantly with human-made pet dyes.

Kennel-registered wolf mixes and non-registered wolf/coyote mixes with up to 50% wild animal content are allowed.

The reason for this is that beyond a certain point, these animals become more wild than domestic pets, with different needs. Keeping such a hybrid as a household pet could do more harm than good. If it were to become a stray, it would likely prefer to stay in the woods rather than remain near people in a city. We wouldn’t want anyone to think that getting one as a pet is a good idea based solely on their roleplaying experience here.

We also expect players who choose to create a wolfdog or coydog to research the specific needs and behaviors of these animals compared to typical domestic dog breeds. Remember, do not exceed the 50% wild animal content limit. 

In short, no. Only wild canines found in North America can be used for wild canine hybrids.

Other canids, such as Dingoes, New Guinea Singing Dogs, or Jackals, are prohibited from being used for a wild canine hybrid. Instead, players can mix regular domestic dogs to try to make them look like exotic wild canines, such as mixing a Carolina Dog with a Japanese Akita for a Dingo-like appearance. The possibilities are endless!

No, we do not have any restrictions regarding disabilities or missing limbs. However, please be respectful and conduct proper research on how a character’s condition might affect their daily life. We expect thorough reasoning beyond just stating, “They lost their paw in an accident.”

No, we do not have any restrictions regarding fur/skin mutations either. Simply ensure that the mutation can occur in dogs in real life!

Additionally, please research the side effects certain mutations will cause. For example, albinism not only causes a lack of pigment and melanism, but it also causes highly sensitive skin and eyes.

To create an additional character, first make sure you are meeting the necessary requirements to bring them in. For example, your second slot is free, but your third one requires one of your characters to have Established Notoriety. All requirements for further character slots can be found under "Creating the Character". 

Then, you follow the character creation guidelines as you did with your first character. Once you’ve written their application and drawn them on one of the four faction sheets, submit them via ticket for staff to review.

Nope, NPCs are separate from playable characters since they’re group-owned. So you could submit them both within the same season if it happens! 

To make life easier, we have implemented an aging system, which varies depending on your dog's size! To learn more about it, check out the Aging System under Creating the Character for a rough guide to your character's age. In addition, the characters age in real-time, so if a year passes, your character becomes a year older.

Yes, they would have to be unique from each other. The same goes for player characters and even NPCs!

So, if a companion is already named Hazel, then there shouldn’t be a player dog, NPC, or other companion named Hazel to prevent confusion. If there’s an NPC named Gale, then there shouldn’t be a player character or companion named Gale.

 You can, yes. Please share any future designs to #character-creation on our Discord server! Remember to keep that channel for Canidale characters only.

In order to deactivate or retire a character, you will simply open a ticket using the "Deactivate/Reactivate a Character" button on Discord! Keep in mind that if you only have one active character, you cannot deactivate or retire it because you must have an active character to participate in the group.

Retirement means they cannot return. Retired characters behave like Group NPCs and can be used by staff for group plots.

With Deactivation, you have the possibility of bringing them back with the prompts under Activity Rules.

When a player leaves, their dog is put in Archive, where they stay in stasis until the player returns, or they ask us to move them.

Faction and job changes must be done through plot progression.

To switch factions, you must draw or write one canon work that details the new faction change. (i.e. A pet running away and becoming a stray).

To change a character's job, like a faction switch, you must draw or write one canon work that details the job change. Please keep in mind that certain jobs require a lot of training before switching over. For instance, a Companion cannot become a well-trained Working police dog overnight!

Please notify the staff team of any faction or job changes via "Character Changes Approval" ticket in file-a-ticket, so we can approve it and update everything accordingly! 

You are welcome to change any part of your application whenever you want!

• If it's minor details (i.e., rephrasing the personality/backstory or redrawing the image, without actually changing the meaning or the character's design) you can do that any time, free of charge.

• If your character changes due to a life event (i.e., a new injury or personality update due to plot), you can do that free of charge, too, provided you include at least one canon work explaining how it happened and mention it in the "Group history" section.

• If you want to redo your character in a way that would not occur naturally (i.e., a complete design overhaul, aging backwards, different breeds, or a drastically different personality/backstory not due to plotting), they are treated as a new character.

 In the case of major overhauls, you should submit a "Character Changes Approval" ticket via ⁠file-a-ticket. We will review the changes to ensure they're still fitting into the group. If you made any progress with Notoriety or Relationships on that character, unfortunately, they are treated as an entirely new character and are reverted to rank 1 (Nobody).

If changing becomes notorious, with one doing it every other week, the staff may decline the change.

Yes, you can still use them for relationships and to level up. However, if you only have enough pieces for the Acquaintance level (for example), then you won’t be able to progress their relationship further than that. 

Unfortunately, if you left the group without notifying the staff team or were removed after missing two consecutive activity checks, you will have to start over. If you choose to bring your old characters back, their notoriety will reset to "Nobody."

On the other hand, if you leave the group by notifying the staff team through the "Leave Canidale" ticket or informing staff in general, then you can keep your character's progress exactly as it was when you left! However, you must make sure the Group History is fully up to date with your character's plot in the group before leaving. 

To enroll your character in the Canine Council, they must be a Junkyard dog, Farmstead dog, or Pet, be Noteworthy, and be a minimum age of adult. No puppies or teenagers are allowed! Once you meet these prerequisites, you may submit a ticket for the staff to review and approve your request to join the Canine Council.

Be warned that if your character has been notoriously breaking the rules (in-character) or making a lot of enemies, it may affect their chances of being allowed into the Council.

You would need two date pieces per dog that they are dating. Plus, they must all be friends at a minimum. See the examples below!

Example of a triad where everyone is dating:

A x B = 2 pieces

B x C = 2 pieces

A x C = 2 pieces

Example of a triad where A is dating B and C, but B and C are not dating:

A x B = 2 pieces

A x C = 2 pieces 

No, you do not have to, if it is an uncomfortable situation. You can submit a ticket to notify the staff team that the relationship has broken up. If you want to create a break-up piece anyway for plot reasons, you’re welcome to! Just ensure that all involved parties consent to it.

The timeline of the Main Story has been compromised between the time needed for an actual course of events and the irl time required for roleplaying. 

Even if in the story less than a month has passed since the disappearance of the leaders, our characters are featured the way they were at the time when the most recent chapter began.

It may sound complicated, but the system was invented to accommodate all the new characters who joined the group after the beginning of the Main Story. This also includes future characters, with the pups ready to be included in the story's next chapter after they're born.

Updates are typically released monthly, alongside the release of events, on the first day of every month at midnight. 

This group uses the GMT-2/UTC-2 time zone.

Swearing is fine in this roleplay group. However, please do not go overboard. Follow the same rules as you would in the Discord server. A few swear words, even heavier ones, are alright, but if you’re using them in almost every sentence, we will ask you to tone it down. In addition, we will outright disallow slurs, even if your character can reclaim them.

The bonus only applies once per rumor per character. (For example, Character A does the rumor of Character B and receives the bonus. They can no longer get the bonus, but Character C is able to complete the rumor and get the bonus with Character B).

Your character can do the same rumor however many times they want, regardless, but only receives the bonus once. 

SSE = Seasonal Special Event

Formerly Monthly Special Event, now known as Seasonal Special Event. They are unique season-themed prompts that are distributed on the first update at the beginning of each season. For completing an SSE, your character can earn a special badge that can be showcased in your character's profile! Even when the season passes, you can still earn them backwards, such as the 2024 Halloween badge. 

MSC = Main Story Chapter

This is reserved for the Main Story prompts that come roughly once a season with each new chapter drop. They portray the latest events happening within different factions as the story unfolds. Completing these prompts will earn you more coveted rewards, such as council points, but they cannot be earned backwards once the deadline for each chapter passes.

Yes. Any interactions, even between your own characters, will count towards relationship points as long as the artwork/literature is also meeting the canon work requirements. We do encourage reaching out to other players, but it is not against the rules to make personal plots with your own characters.

Yes, you can write or draw interactions from the past! As long as it concerns characters from Canidale, there is no harm in submitting character interactions that take place in their past. This also applies if any collabs or RPs get delayed and turn into "backdated" work. There will never be penalties for backdated content.

You are welcome to draw a character that hasn’t been added to the group yet, but they cannot be submitted to the DA gallery or main Discord art channel. You will have to wait until they are approved to submit their artwork and literature. 

Please also refrain from starting collabs or RPs with an unapproved character until then. You might receive a gentle reminder from a staff member if caught.

It is up to each person where they would like to roleplay! You can either roleplay in Google Docs and then post it to DeviantArt, or you can roleplay in our Discord server.

Roleplays in our Discord server doesn't necessarily need to be posted to DeviantArt either, unless the players decide they want to do it.

Yes, you can. Badges can be earned backwards.

 If someone wanted to earn the "Surf Champ" SSE badge from 2024, they can still do so by drawing or writing the prompt and labeling it as an SSE. 

A character can have up to 3 active rumors at a time. There is a one month cooldown between starting new rumors per character (cooldowns reset on the first day of the month).

Yes and no:

• No, as long as they are still living with the parents or in the same faction as one of the parents.

• Yes, if they decide to switch factions.

Activity checks are due at the end of each season, so they occur four times a year! (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) We are quite lenient and will allow any artwork or literature, including WIPs, to be used for your activity check. 

If you fail to submit an activity check on time, the character will be moved to the inactive folder and marked inactive. However, do not fret! You are not out of the group unless you fail to bring the character back in one season (3 months).

To bring a character from inactive to active, you must complete a prompt assigned to the character for reactivating the character. This is a prompt that must be performed, no regular artwork/writing piece or meme will suffice. They are found under Activity Rules.

When a character becomes inactive, it no longer counts towards your character slots, only active characters. If all your characters get sent to the shelter, you will be given a season to get at least one of them out with a Shelter Prompt before you are removed from the group.

Yes, you can. However, please note that significant changes—such as drastically altering the character's backstory, personality, design, breed, or other major details— will result in them being treated as entirely new. Their progress will then be reset to the beginning, and you will have to open a ticket for us to approve them, like you would with a new character. 

To become a member, you must apply within our opening periods, which are typically during Spring and Autumn, with a completed character, including a written and art application, before this opening closes. Please keep an eye on the Discord server and DA announcements, as these will give you more information on openings and closing of new member applications!

Alternatively, you can be invited by a current member with an invite voucher.  Keep in mind that there are a few restrictions: A member must be in the group for a full season before inviting friends, have one active character, and can only use a voucher once a month. See more about it on the Getting Started page.

Canidale allows some mature themes, such as mild to moderate violence and abuse, so we have an age rating of 18+. Despite this, we will not accept sexual content. Read our Content Rules for a comprehensive list of acceptable and banned themes.

You must be a minimum of 18 years old to join Dogs of Canidale.

 If you wish to change your server nickname, you can do that anytime you want without notifying the staff. 

However, if you change your Discord username or your Deviantart username, we'd kindly ask you to notify us so that we can update our member info table!

You don't need to send a ticket for it; just a simple notice in the #questions channel will be fine, listing both your old and new names.

This is a hard rule we have set in place. If you didn’t make it in because of the word count or for other mishaps, do not fret! You will have another chance in the future. 

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be active on DeviantArt. 

The only thing that is a must is to submit character applications to the dA group; otherwise, you are welcome to use the art-and-lit and RP channels for canon work submissions. Just be sure to grab and track their links for when you use them to level up and build relationships! We even have a Character Masterlist forum on our Discord that you can use for canon work.

No problem! If you are uninterested or dissatisfied with certain aspects of Dogs of Canidale, please leave a suggestion in our #suggestions channel or submit a feedback form! We are open to listening to new ideas and criticisms as long as they are phrased respectfully. Even if we cannot take in all suggestions, your feedback is greatly valued.

If you decide to leave, we would highly appreciate a notice, so that we can properly update our Member spreadsheet. 

Canidale is a fictional town located in modern day Oregon , in the United States of America. It is surrounded by mixed forests and farmlands, with a port and a beach of the Pacific Ocean.

Canidale takes place in modern era! It is in the 21st century and follows the same years as real life. So for instance, if it is 2025 in real time, it is 2025 in Canidale. 

Please note that any fictional events that occur in Canidale do not always reflect whatever is happening in real life. 

The Police Station in Canidale doubles as a facility to train K9s. It is not a large and massive "academy", but it has enough resources and police officers to train a handful of dogs at a time, no more than fifteen.

For Canidale's architectural styles, many of the newer areas of the town tend to be larger, American-style homes (eg. Barn Style, Contemporary) which cater to families. Still, closer to the town center, where the origins of Canidale began many generations back, you will find more European-style homes, with lots of color and paneling, best likened to styles of Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians.

Though there are no large-scale commercial airports in Canidale, the town owns a public seaplane used to transport emergency goods as well as a helicopter with its own landing pad for transporting urgent case patients to hospitals beyond the valley.

There are no regulations against owning a small personal aircraft for entertainment or farmwork-related purposes as long as its starting lane is built on private property. 

Check out our official map to see which land plots are large enough to accommodate one. If someone can't afford the land, they can attempt to share by asking the existing owners permission to use their lane for starting and landing.

No, dogs cannot verbally speak to other animal species, including their companions. Instead, they can communicate through other means, such as gestures, body language, and vocal cues, much like how humans teach dogs commands. 

Likewise, dogs would not be able to communicate with humans the way they communicate with a dog.

Only if you'd like to.

We are focused on dogs rather than humans, but you can create their information if you desire; however, it is not mandatory. You are also free to develop their visual appearance and include them in your character's art or literature. It isn't uncommon for dogs to walk around town on their own. 

All factions could potentially deal with a variety of predators, especially in the wooded portions and farm lands of Canidale, Oregon. Predators include, but are not limited to, red foxes, bobcats, black bears, coyotes, wolves, wolverines, birds of prey, harbor seals, sharks, and possibly cougars.

If you ever plan a major plot involving a bigger predator, such as black bears or cougars, please obtain approval from the staff using the ticket "Contact Staff Dogs"!